1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a development device used in an electrophotographic apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and also to a container of consumption articles used in the same, such as a toner pack and a used-toner tank.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development device of the electrophotographic apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus and a copying machine develops, by use of toner, an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum to thereby form a visible image (toner image). The development device has a toner holder, and uses toner contained therein to perform development. Toner in the toner holder is gradually reduced as it is consumed, and hence must be resupplied. Toner resupply is performed by the user with use of a toner pack so as to prevent the user's hand or clothes or the inside of the electrophotographic apparatus from being soiled by toner, that is, an empty toner pack mounted in the development device is exchanged with a new toner pack filled with the toner.
The toner pack is a toner container having a toner outlet sealed with a sheet member. The toner pack is formed by subjecting a polystyrene resin, an ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) resin, or a polyethylene resin to injection molding. At the time of resupply of toner, an empty toner pack is detached from the toner holder of the development device, and a new toner pack is mounted in a predetermined position of the toner holder, thereafter removing the seal sheet from the new toner pack. Thus, toner is supplied through the toner outlet of the toner pack into the toner holder of the development device. The detached used or empty toner pack is disposed of.
The conventional toner pack made of a polystyrene resin, an ABS resin, or a polyethylene resin causes such a problem as described below when it is disposed of.
when these resin materials are incinerated, they generate a larger amount of heat than paper, cloth, and wood, which are easy to incinerate. Thus, the walls of an incinerator can easily be damaged, which makes it difficult to incinerate the resin materials forming the toner pack. Therefore, fit is necessary at the time of disposal to separate resin products from flammable products made of paper, cloth, or wood. This is troublesome for the user.
Further, the above described resin materials are hard to bend or crush. Thus, it is difficult to reduce the size of the used toner pack by crushing or folding, and hence the toner pack is inevitably bulky.
The used-toner tank also has the above drawbacks.